Growing Green Roofs in Toronto

Green roofs no longer just mean that the shingles on
your home are the colour green. Green roof technology –
that is – roofs literally made out of living "green" plants –
are becoming de rigueur in the City of Toronto. They also may
soon be the law!

What is a green roof?

A green roof is as a system where a
vegetated area becomes part of a building’s
roof and includes vegetation, a growing
medium, a filter layer, a drainage layer,
a root resistance layer and a waterproof
membrane.

Green roofs are built on top of a human-
made structure and can be located below,
at, or above grade. There are three main
types of green roof systems:

complete systems where all the
different components including the roof
membrane are part of the whole system

modular systems that are positioned
above the existing roofing system

pre-cultivated vegetation blankets that
consist of growing medium and plants that
are rolled onto the existing roofing system
with drainage mats and root barriers

Beaches first green roof

The first green roof in the Beaches is
being installed in the Fallingbrook Loft
Project where grass will be planted on
the top of the six story building. The
building, reminiscent of the work of
famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright,
is using glass and natural stone in its
construction. It will be extremely energy
efficient and is being submitted for LEED
certification (Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design). It’s overall
concept is a natural for a real "green"
roof.

Why have a roof you have to "mow"?

They are beautiful and add value to
buildings by providing scenic views and
recreational areas in dense urban areas.

Leading the pack

Toronto is poised to become the first city
in North America to make green roofs
mandatory on most new buildings and
set standards for their construction.

City Council is currently considering
a proposed bylaw that would require
roofs on new buildings with an area
of 5,000 square metres or greater to be
30% to 60% covered by vegetation.
The bigger the building, the more
planted space it would have to have–
otherwise fines could be levied. If
passed, this would make Toronto the
first city in North America to make
green roofs mandatory on most new
buildings and set standards for their
construction.

Ontario is already is a leader in green
roof technology, and this October
Toronto will host the World Green Roof
Infrastructure Conference Toronto.

Please send your comments about our featured articles
to info@beachesliving.ca. Also let
us know what subject would you like to see in our future issues.